The Brownwood Lions halted a four-game skid with a resounding 71-43 victory over the Big Spring Steers Thursday morning at the Brownwood Coliseum to secure second place in their pool at the TexasBank Holiday Classic.
“The energy was better, we looked better in warm-ups and we showed up with our minds focused and that was a really big part of it,” said Lions second-year head coach Will Parker. “Some guys finally got a little bit of rhythm out there, but we’d still make two good plays and then an awful play. We just have to get consistency, stop turning the ball over and finish at the rim.”
The Lions raced out to a 16-4 lead after one quarter, carried a 33-12 lead into halftime and were in front 48-25 after three periods.
“Jumping out on people is really nice and something we haven’t had the luxury of doing a lot yet,” Parker said. “That start was huge, and coming out in the second half I told them now was the time to put it on them.”
Regarding the 12 points surrendered in the first half, Parker said, “They weren’t very big so we knew if we could keep them out of the paint and make them shoot some contested shots we’d have a chance, as long as we rebounded and limited them to one shot.”
Luke Gray led the charge for Brownwood with 11 points followed by Hayden Noe, Morsello Hooker and Jason Jackson with 10 each; Tristan Salinas, Ryder Lancaster and Gage Sparks with eight apiece; Trent Loftin with four; and Hayden Proffitt with two points.
“It was nice to be able to play with a lead and get some guys in there to play a lot of minutes,” Parker said, whose team had averaged just 49 points per game in the previous four outings.
Gavin Padron paced Big Spring (4-9) with 12 points trailed by Conner Miller with 10.
With the win, the Lions (9-7) earned a date with the Early Longhorns (9-7) at 6:40 p.m. tonight at the Brownwood Coliseum.
